Air-ship.



No. 853,542. PATENTED MAY 14, 1907. H. PABHRMANN.

AIR SHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APE-1.2,1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wnusssss: J 5 INVENTOR- ,5; ATTORNEYS.

PATENTED MAY 1%. 1987.

H. fi gammn AIE SfiI? w mummies rum 53 2, 1903,

[n5 VATTORNEYS No. 853,542 Piifiwsn MAY 14, 190?.

AIR SHIP.

' nrmmnon FILEDVAPE. 2 was;

" inzmoa 15;; ATTQRNEYS 4 SHEETS-SEER? 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN FAEHRMANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. I

AIR-SHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907.

Application filed April 2, 1903. Serial 110.150,?41.

for high speed propulsion, and in which the danger of capsizing is avoided by a device automatically keeping the ship horizontal or on an even keel. I also provide mechanism by which the ship may he raised and central rib or fin al at the top. The sides of lowered at will, without the use of ballast.

In constructing my air ship, I give its bod substantially the shape ofthe inverted h of a yacht or like craft, so that the body has a fiat bottom virtually forming an aeroplane and a central u per rib or fin, which construction enables t e ship to readily lide on the air and to follow a true course. ore and aft, I arrange horizontal screws or pro pellers, and by 'roperly rotating them, the entire ship ma lie caused to rise or fall with out the use of An automatic device allast.

normally controls the forward and rearward horizontal propellers in such a manner that the two sets of propellers will exert'opposite influences if the ship should lose llZS'liOIlZOil tal position; that is, the forward propellers. will then have a tendency to lift the bow; and? the" rearward propellers a-tendency to lowri the stern, or vice-verse thereby quick ly r'e-"'- the ship to a horizontal position. A

stori 'prope or rotating about Is. horizontal axis disposed. transversely of the ship is employed for steering the air ship. The driving propellers rotate about axes extending lengthwise of the ship; These propellers are of novel construction, combining lightness, strength and efficiency.

A typical form of my invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the features of novelt .will therbe pointed out in the appende claims. 3' ma here remark thatior the sake of clearness, have exag erated the relative sizes of various parts, and the drawings therefore are not to beconsidered correct in the matter. of proportions.

Figure l is'a plan of my improved air ship; Fi 2 is a sectional elevation on line 22 of h ig. 1 Fig. 3 is a side elevation with an inverted 'osition:

parts in section; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic plan of the mechanism; Fi 5 is a face view of the propeller; Fig. 0' is a broken sectional elevation thereof, substantially on line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a detail showing the manner of securing the blade to the framework of the propeller; Fi 8 is a sectional detail of the propeller on ine 88 of Fi 9; Fi 9 is a cross section on line 99 of ig. '8; ig. 10 is a sectional elevation substantially on line 10l0 of Fig. 11; and Fig. 1- is a cross section on line 11l1 of Fig. F. J

The buoyant hull or body A of the air ship is of elongated form, pointed at both ends and provided with a flat bottom A adapted to form an aeroplane and with a longitudinal the body converge toward the free edge of the rib or fin A". The shape of the hull is therefore somewhat like that of a yacht in The distribution ,of weight is, o h course, entirely different, so that the airship will float with the flat surface at the bottom, and will have no headarmy to turn turtle. At the lower partof the body is a compartment A preferably open, the relative height of which has been eatly exaggerated in Fig. 3, and which is seated to serves-s a platform or bridge for the operator and passengers, and also for the reception of the engine and the greater part of the machinery. The en inc (indicated at B in Fig. 4) is preferably ted at the center, and aotuates'a main ihaftG. from whichpower is transmitted to the driving propellers D, mounted on longituidinal horizontal shaftsl), by means of cross shafts E and Bevel Baring F, F.

A stee props er G is provided referahiy at t l l e gtern. and at a higher love than the driving propeller shafts D, said steering prepeller'beingniounted on a transverse hori zcntal shaft G Whlllll is located in a channel A extending through the body A from side to side. This shaft is provided with a key or s line G upon which is adapted to slide a 's eeve carrying-two 'o osing bevel wheels G A shifting lever l-if the operator," permits of bringing either of the wheels G into engagement with a bevel wheel I; located between them; and permanently rotated from o'ne of the'driv'ing proellershafts' l) by insane oi- 6701 gearing J and-a vertical sh'aft. KIT A' s "ring or'other meansiispro videld-for normal y holding the wheelsG of engagementwith the: .wheel under the control of cause the corresponding propellers to rotate propeller will nor- 1., so that the steering mally be idle. By swinging the lever H one way or the other, the ship may be efliciently steered, without the assistance of a rudder, although a suitable rudder may be added at the )ow or stern, if desired. It will be obscrved that when the steering propeller is o erated, an additional load is thrown on t e shaft of the driving propeller, and the speed of the latter is thus reduced, which facilitates the evolutions of the ai One of the difficulties encountered in the operation of airships hav' body is their tendency to ous correetives have been employed, which, owever, are slow in action and diflicult to handle, besides being very liable to get out of order. The mechanism which I will now describe automatically keeps the ship level, is very sensitive, producing a corrective action immediately upon the ship s dipping at either end, and is little liable to get out of order. T cse results are due chiefly to the use of compressed air or a similar medium as a means for transmitting energy to the switch mechanism which I empl and stern, and the rib or fin e propellers L to rotate about vertical geometrical axes, so that said propellers may exert a liftingor lowering action on the ship. These propellers I prefer to arrange in upright channels or chambers A extending through the body A and open to the atmos phere at the top and at the bottom. At the lower end of each of the shafts L a bevel wheel L is provided, adapted to mesh with either one of two opposing bevel wheels M carried by a sleeve M w 'ch is capable of sliding on a shaftM or E, but held to turn therewith. The shafts M E are driven from the main shaft 0 by bevel gearing C, F. T e position of each sleeve M is controlled by -a shifting lever N fulcrumed at N and connected by a link 0 with a lever P fulerumed at P. Each lever P is also connected with a rod Q extending from a piston Q working in a cylinder Q Similar chambers of the two cylinders at the same end of the airship are connected by pines R, R, r, 1', respectively. y similar chain )ers; I mean chambers which are similar in 'unction, so that the admission of air into them will cause both pistons to be shifted in such a manner as to with a like effect, that 1s,-either a lifting effect or a lowering efi'ect. Admission 0, air into the pipes R and 1' produces a like efl'ect', that is, for instance, a lifting efi'ect of all the propellers L, will produce say a lowering effect if air is admitted into the pipes R and 1:. Normally, the wheels M are kept out of engagement with the wheels L by springs, or in any other suitable manner.

and similarly all thepropellers 7 The pipes R 1- are ermore, from the p1p R r connectlons are made by pipes U u to the automatic controller consisting for instance of cylinders V V containing connected piston ese pistons are adapted to about a horizontal 'axis extending transairship, and. rovided with an operatin arm X c'onnectedhvith said piston valves W. Opposite the cylinder ports which communicate with the pipes U u, I arrange inlet ports communicating with pipes Y Y, from which a pipe Y Y Y leads to source of compressed air, for instance rece tacles in which compressed air is stored. Tlie governing valve T also controls the connection between the pipe portions Y, Y.

,that is. when the airship is in a position, the valves W W are in so that no com ressed Normally horizonta the position shown,

air is admitted to the pellers L are consequently idle. Should the ship for an reason deviate from a horizontal position, t e valves W W will shift so as to admit compressed air to one of the pi es U, u, while keeping the other inactive. i instance, air passes into the pipe U, it will reach the bow cylinders through the pi e R, and the stern cylinders Q through t e pipes R, S, s, and r. All the propellers L will now be rotated, but'those at the bow with a at the stern, raising the one while lowering the other, and thus quickly restoring the ship to a horizontal position. As soon as this result is obtained, the valves W W will close automatically. Should the deviation of the ship be in the op- -l posite' direction, air will pass into the pipes a, r, s, S and R, and thus a sin cause the bow propellers and stern prope lers L to corroot the deviation and bring the ship back to a horizontal position.

In some cases it may be desirable to pro duce the same effect with all propellers L, that is, either a lifting or a lowering eflect, so as toeause the ship to rise bodily without the 'use of ballast, or to descend. For this purpose I provide suitable meeh anism for admitting air simultaneously to the pipes R and r, In thearticular construction shown, this is aecom ished by the governing valve T, which isunr er the'control of the operator, for instance by means of a lever Z, capable of three positions, one (as shown) for the automatic action described above, an-

other for a bodily u Ward movement of the' and the third or the bodlly downward Suitable mechanism king the lever Z and ship, movement of the ship. will be provided for no pipes U, u, and t e prorob j ing at a high rate of speed.

' able 0 empley'high velscities, I have (la separated'by gnmv s tween which j fiips. when thewalve T is 3TH}??? 2n sitien all the pgwigczs are closeil exctep i 25? the stern rylimlers through the piges S 5 a 'nertians: S witlys mad S willhrY the valve T in any (ms of the three pasitisns. The valve 51 has a serles 9f Fste'n p rtmns g gza'tive in'iie-pestkm shiw ta I S'Wifih s, with Y a S" h $135 :1 described. Th9 portions of full iaingtzgr are adaged twp-lose the parts of all 511 said six Esta The r fhllmving additianal pipe emmeeiifi centroll'ed by the gawernlng valvaisfinm a pipe 5 which oannects withthe pip to a V pipe s:, which connects with the ipe r"; from a pipe's which is'abranch 0f plpe S to the 15 pipe Y; from a gig: S{, which conncls with the pipe R, tfi a r3361 9f the )ipc Y; and from a pipe S which is a, branc of pipgfi;

to a pipe whia'rh' cnmmunicafces with pip ff i Now if valve *1 is shil'ted ta the up pathat maka ihe fallaising gonnections: S W'E Y, and S with. 3 Compressed an wil jherefere fim from the 'pipe Y Y the baza ksylindersr Q thraugh the pipes S RT, anfi ta 2111 pr m 35 during film dsireal Operation of the prw g g sz.

By the mechanism abs-v2 deserib'gd; I am enabled ti: use the same propellers L either fur ralsmg or lOWETJIIg the an shrp hmhlgg 01' position 0f the ship. 7 7

I have thmugh experience acqiiiffi ihe .19;;- victinn that sueces in will glepemi lafgely on the use f'gifpezfi ffiiat" In ai'dei" ts he vised a propeller Wfiifih will be very light yet ifery sfirangzm'l ngixi; Figs. 5120 11:42pmsent my improved pmpaller.

7 so hub a and three {or more} rims 6 1 c surfie averth central rim 5, beingslnttd'fi:

purpose far a :lisianee flunf its irmeri ni V "*geilezs t0 pmduce spg i W and Si ma.

rouliding the same, the central rim 5 beingrof greater diameter than the ethers, c. of the rims is ccnnected with the hub a by wire stays 0r hrmies d, whicl1 crmvrge toward the respecjglve 11315. To the filmm- "Wiifli tlius farmed I secisf'e the? vanes 0i lfizes Emile pf 1151; metal; 0: bfifffag cave-rod with silk or other resistant nmteri al' Eiich biadeiits between the auter rims 0,3?

Tn lmhl l'lw blades? steady, wire 13:3 92nd frum them to the three rims. El

mere, the central run l is embracefi bv' m* 6: liaif-sockets g (see Figs. 8 andr wfiiskglgfi It.- com rises fr am; sf V greased 111116, to produce ORPOSilfieffects at t'he new and stark.

Emil: f

clasp btweefi' t hafn the ends of fun! angle ages. V

i in Figs 7, l0 and 11 the V rims c are csnnec i by hz'acfis i ife" 'ith socket podium it; 52 3 ends R 5 1e said rims, and with la; cantmlpei iisns the abutting flanges 0f whisk gififivtfid together while the Qth r au??? I 6 sides are secured theretfi, The great "strmgtl 0f this prapeller enables it to be fi pzaieli a 11 rate of speed.

' Yariaus mot-1i cations may he made witharting frem the aaia sf my inven 'fsfih irl the. appended CliL'iIIIS Y invenfimzanl desire 11mm by Letters atezzi i5" 7 g In an air-ship, a banly p'mvided near fize bow and stem respecti velywith normally LS 9315 rm arypropellers' mounted is eftifial axes means eangs i3 7 V 77 f the .hip'fr0m 213%.. Pifi61, fijf irapellers to a deva- In an ai "hip, abudy ,mvidefi near the and stxf'n with rage i lfi'ifififiied to ggrnmnent y yerwl sies meems F Lzzig the said rapefi Q m; thy 'pm iugae similar er-ects to raise sr lewer E l20dih and mains amtifiiledby a v ian isf the slfipfrsifi iii i }1}, is? simultanefiualji flaming the said mts at the 0w b s-w 15 an airshig imns 5 519 abutting flanges (if iihich 933:; "513i iiveied tgther, whili' .21 i s? ,1 Q: gzgaint film firms: Sfif 'therets. h irons are 329m armmzl E ie against the blades e at apposite mm away resififg the 3131' ta 2, horizntal ilClSitiOIl;

buw and stem wlth projae lers mounted ta mm; posihaw and stem milk figsa'filagmaanmd toi erning the admission of turn about vertical axes, mechanism controlling the motion and the direction of rotation of the said propellers, leading to said mechanism, a controller govcompressed air to said pipes, and a balance device arranged to actuate said controller.

In an airship, a body rovided near the bow and stern with propellers mounted to turn about vertical axes, mechanism for controlling the motion and direction of rotation of said propellers, compressed air pipes leading to said mechanism, a controller operated by a deviation of the ship from a horizontal position, for admitting air to said pi es in such a manner as to cause the propel ers to produce opposite effects at the bow and stern, and another device under the control of the comat the and stem.

6. In an airshi a body provided with bow and stern propeliers mounted to turn about vertical axes, mechanism operated automatically upon a deviation of the ship from a horizontal position, for causing the said pr0- pellers to in other positions renders the said mechanism inactive and causes the propellers to rotate with like effect at the bow and stern.

hub, and vanes or blades connected with said 40 framework.

8. In an airship,

a propeller comprising a central hub,

rims surrounding said hub, braces or stays connecting the hub with the rims and converging some toward one rim, and some towardanother, and vanes or blades carried bv said rims.

9. In an airs ip, a propellercomprising a framework havin connected rims, one of said rims being 0 larger diameter than the adjacent ones and blades fitted over said large rim and etween the smaller rims.

10. In an airship, a propeller comprising a framework havin connected rims, one of said rims being 0? larger diameter than the adjacent ones, blades fitted over said large rim and between the smaller rims, and conrim to the other and secured to the said blades.

11. In an airship, a propeller comprising a framework havin connected rims, one of said rims being 0 larger diameter than the adjacent ones, blades fitted over said large rim and between the smaller rims, and braces extending in opposite directions from the 65 large rim and secured to the said blades.

HERMANN FAEHRMANN.

Witnesses:

Or'ro V. SCHRENK, JOHN LOTKA 

